Blog : is it me or the Misophonia?

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2/28/2022 10:41 am

is it me or the Misophonia?

I’ve started going to the local public library to check out DVDs and use their internet. It is a rather large space, with a great deal to offer beyond what you’d expect from the traditional library. I’m not kidding when I tell you they are loaning out cookware, board games, and even pressure washers for use. I was quite impressed when the librarian informed me of everything, and began going on a regular basis.

Now I knew it was a public space. I expected to deal with unwanted noises like books loudly thunking as they were re-shelved, or maybe conversations that would get irritating, so I brought noise cancelling headphones with me, and at first tried to choose a corner as far away from people as possible. An inquiry about private study rooms was met with<b> rejection </font></b>due to the pandemic. I would just have to sit somewhere, put in my headphones, turn on my music, and hope for the best. And that worked for a while, until it didn’t.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I grew up with the notion that libraries were supposed to be quiet places. Every movie scene I’ve ever watched that takes place in a library has shown someone being shushed for talking too loud, or making too much noise. Cliche’ or not, I think that’s the way it is supposed to be. After all, how can a person concentrate on reading if there are loud distractions all around them? Of course public libraries now offer MUCH more than books, and some of those things are bound to bring a bit of bustle to the building. The addition of computer access definitely attracts a different kind of patron. Libraries have changed, and so perhaps my perception and expectations should as well. I’ve just always thought they were places where a person could go and find some semblance of peace and quiet, kind of like a church, but that does not seem to be the attitude and demeanor of the staff. And therein lies the rub.

Sitting in my back corner, I can hear the female librarians at the complete opposite end of the building, incessantly babbling and chatting their day away. They are nearly the length of a football field from me, but I can put on my headphones and turn on music and still hear them. It’s not a group of rude, unruly teens it is a few older women who should know better. It seems they are oblivious to the fact that they can be heard throughout the entire building. Either that, or they just don’t care. As a result of this, I had to begin searching for another place to sit, and that is how I wound up close to the Help desk. I certainly expected to hear some conversation in that area, but I did not anticipate a person who spoke so loudly that I would once again be able hear them over music piped directly into my ears. It was baffling and frustrating, but all the more so because it was once again coming from a member of the staff. I hadn’t approached the babbling ladies at the front desk, but I did speak my mind to the Help desk person, and it didn’t go well. Let’s just say I was blunt and unrelenting and leave it at that. The conversation ended with me packing up my stuff and leaving, vowing only to return to check out DVDs.

This is actually very inconvenient and unfortunate for me. It is difficult getting work done online at home, so I had really hoped to make going to the library at least 6 / six days a week part of my schedule. I just can’t go, sit all the way in the back corner, and be forced to blast music into my ears to cover up the sound of the librarians loudly socializing. It’s a blessing that they are there, providing the services they do, and apparently I am the only person with the problem because I certainly didn’t hear anyone else complaining, or even seconding my emotion. If nearly half the staff of any particular business are all doing the same thing, with zero repercussions, then it’s obviously just me that has the issue. I shouldn’t, and wouldn’t expect them all to change for me, so I chose to lose the opportunity to take advantage of some of their services. No great loss to them, a sizable one to me, but I’ll figure something out.

What do you think? Is the librarian “shushing” people a thing of the past, or am I just unlucky? Is it me or my Misophonia?


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